Research Lead

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books, and reference works. Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge.

As Research Lead at T&F, you will own the qualitative understanding of our users. Reporting to the Head of Product Design, you'll uncover our users' motivations, mental models, and unmet needs through interviews, usability studies, and diary studies.

• You own research as a discipline at T&F, defining and evolving our research practices.
• Build and maintain a research program that balances reactive support for active product work with proactive, generative research.
• Develop a research repository and knowledge management system that makes accumulated user insight accessible and reusable across teams.
• Advocate for research investment at leadership level.

• Lead studies that open new problem spaces.
• Design and lead generative research studies, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic observation.
• Synthesise research findings into actionable insights.
• Explore emerging customer needs and market shifts.

• Design and run usability studies, concept tests, and prototype evaluations.
• Establish a continuous evaluation rhythm ensuring that live product experiences are regularly tested with real users.
• Define the standard for what 'tested with users' means at T&F.

• Work in close partnership with the Customer Intelligence Lead.
• Identify when qualitative findings need quantitative validation.
• Contribute to the development of survey instruments and quantitative research designs.

• Develop user personas, journey maps, and experience principles grounded in research.
• Present research findings to senior stakeholders.
• Create feedback loops between research and product.
• Champion inclusive research practice.

• Significant years in user research, with a portfolio demonstrating both generative and evaluative research.
• Mastery of qualitative research methods.
• Mixed-methods capability.
• A track record of research that changed product decisions or strategic priorities.
• Strong synthesis and storytelling skills.
• Experience building research as a practice.
• Collaborative by nature.

At Taylor & Francis, we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We believe that the skills and experience you bring are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities and innovate in areas you are passionate about.

This role is based in the UK, and you must have the right to work and live in the UK. We believe that great things happen when people connect face-to-face. The successful candidate will be able to utilise our balanced working model.

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above.

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed.